Do you want to work on your school work at home?
Or do you have design ideas and not enough time to complete them in class?
WHSAD Students can download a fully functional copy of the latest version of AutoCAD software for their laptop or desktop (either Windows or Macintosh operating system).
Follow the instructions below and if you have any problems or questions ask me or your Architecture Teacher!
In order to download the software you will have to create a student account on the AutoDesk Education website. Make sure you register with a valid email address that you have access to, as the account will be verified and the license information will be sent to it.
Go to http://students.autodesk.com to create your account.
Click Register on the top-right corner:
On the next screen, enter your valid email address and pick the “Student” option:
Fill out the rest of the required user information in the next step. For some reason it is not always required, but if asked the school name is “Williamsburg High School for Architecture & Design” :
An email has been sent to your email address with an activation link. Do not close this window in case you do not get the email, open your email in a new tab or window:
(Sometimes AutoDesk also sends an email to me to verify that you are a student at the school. If this happens, you won’t be able to download the software until I have verified you. I check my email frequently, the longest you should have to wait is a few hours or maybe a day if it is a weekend.)
Check the email that you enter during registration (in a new tab or window) and click on the link in that email. If you do not see the email after ten minutes, check your spam folder and if it is not there try having AutoDesk resend the confirmation email:
The email link will open the final step of the registration process. You might have to log back in with your email address (that is your AutoDesk username) and your password. On this screen choose “Architecture” as your discipline, enter your graduation year (this will be verified with the school), and click “Save changes! Take me to the free software”:
Now you that you have completed the registration process, you can choose the software to download. WHSAD Students can actually download ANY PROGRAM from the AutoDesk Suite of software for free! Unless you are exploring on your own or your teacher specifically told you to download a different product, choose AutoCAD:
Now you will choose your software options.
AutoCAD works better on a Windows based computer than a Mac, so if you have both at home you would be better off choosing Windows (it is also what we use at school). If you only have a Mac, the link you need to follow is on the bottom of the screen.
You are able to download the new version each year you are enrolled at WHSAD. We update our computers with the latest version each year, so you should choose the newest offered, in the case 2013.
The operating system you choose (32bit or 64bit) will depend on both your computer hardware and your software. If you are not sure, choose 32bit as that will work on all systems. If you are absolutely certain you have both a 64bit operating system and hardware, you can choose 64bit. For the work we will be doing you will see little performance difference between the two versions:
Make sure you write down both your serial number and product key, they are unique to you so do not share them. If more than one copy of AutoCAD is using the same keys, they will stop working automatically. Once you start your download, be prepared to wait as it is a very large file. Depending on the speed of your internet, it might take all night to download:
Once the download completes, install your new software and when prompted enter the serial number and product key you wrote down.
Enjoy!